"Randa (Conilgio, Port of San Diego president & CEO) has brought in a team that
is a good mix of people who have been here a long time and know the port and
people who come from other occupations... The mix is important."
-Jenifer Barsell, Port of San Diego
require familiarity with many of the same
stakeholders and issues.
Tapping into human capital from outside
the port or shipping industry requires flexibility, openness and creativity. Though
they may be unique - both as an industry
and as individual entities - ports can draw
inspiration from modern-day technology
companies, professional sports teams,
airports and other industry associations
by hiring port staff and working with
port solution providers who come to the
table with a wealth of experience from
non-maritime backgrounds - redefining
what it means to come from "outside" the
port industry.
Bringing Business Sense
to Ports
Doug Wheeler took the helm of the
Florida Ports Council almost seven years
ago, coming to the group with deep knowledge of the state of Florida but no port,
shipping or cruise industry experience.
Years spent at the Florida Chamber of
Commerce and the Associated Builders
and Contractors gave Doug enough insight
to bring critical skills to the job.
"It's about being the voice for your
industry and not letting someone else
be that voice," Wheeler said. "There's
a better retention of message when it
comes collectively."
He also emphasized the inherent commonality in all three groups for which he
has worked: "Most of these actors and players are free market people who want an
open and fair competitive market."
Delivering an effective message has been
one of Wheeler's top goals, and soon after
becoming CEO, he created a vice president, public affairs position - currently
filled by Niki McKinnell, who also came
to the group from outside the port industry.
Now, the Council has marketing campaigns
to make sure that everyday Floridians know
the value of ports.
"It's not just what you message but how,"
said Wheeler. "That's something I brought
from the Chamber."
Wheeler's organization doesn't just
use words and charts to emphasize the
fact that 13 percent of the state's gross
domestic product relies on its ports; the
Council works to make the information
personal for its intended audience so it
will resonate.
"We make sure the data we present from
a look and feel perspective is something
people want to read," said Wheeler.
Whether Baseball or
Ports, Stakeholder
Engagement Matters
Marketing and communications are an
area where it may be easy for those with
non-port backgrounds to bring significant
experience to individual ports.
Jenifer Barsell is director of marketing and communications for the Port of
San Diego. Prior to working at the port,
her career had been primarily in college and professional athletics, including
11 years spent at the San Diego Padres.
During her tenure with the Padres, Barsell
worked through the team's relocation to a
new stadium and rebrand for the organization. When working on the Port of San
Diego's rebranding effort in the past year,
she recalled lessons learned from her time
with the Padres.
"Involve stakeholders early, and be collaborative and open," Barsell said - ideas
that made an impression during her work
with the Padres but translated easily to
the port.
During its rebrand and new stadium
transition, the Padres organization focused
intensely on the customer experience, which
encompasses not only time buying tickets
BEFORE
and being at the stadium but also traveling
to the game, parking and entering the ballpark. This same kind of human-centered
design perspective is relevant for ports. "It's
more than a logo; it's about how people
experience the port," Barsell said of the Port
of San Diego's recent rebranding efforts.
The new brand now includes five subbrands based on the way that people interact with the port: maritime, waterfront
development, public safety, experiences
and environment. These sub-brands will
drive a redesign of the port's website in
the coming year.
The port also applied one of Barsell's
other lessons from her athletics experience -
getting early buy-in from key stakeholders
so they can be advocates for the process.
In baseball, that means getting certain
players to like the new uniforms before
they are unveiled, and at a port, it means
meeting with key tenants to talk through
the structure and messaging behind the
port's new brand.
About a week before the port launched its
new brand, it also did internal focus groups
with port employees and actually made some
changes to the rollout based on the groups'
feedback. The new brand launched May 1
in conjunction with maritime month, and so
far, the Port of San Diego has received good
feedback for its work. Barsell credits much
of the organization's success with the diverse
staff that have been hired by President &
CEO Randa Conilgio.
"Randa has brought in a team that is a
good mix of people who have been here a
long time and know the port and people
who come from other occupations," Barsell
said. "The mix is important."
AFTER
FALL 2017 * WWW.AAPASEAPORTS.COM
31

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